


Persistence

by RQ_drabbles (ravenclawsquill)



Series: Drabbles [14]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Hogwarts Sixth Year, M/M, Pre-Slash, Secret Crush, Vanishing Cabinets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 00:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11978316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenclawsquill/pseuds/RQ_drabbles
Summary: Sixth Year wasn’t supposed to be like this. He should be playing Quidditch, spending time with his friends, taunting Potter…





	Persistence

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble was written for  
> [Week Seven of H/D LDWS Round 9](https://slythindor100.livejournal.com/1482836.html).
> 
> The prompt was "Vanishing Cabinet" and the exact word count required was 225. Excluding scene breaks, dashes and ellipses, this drabble meets the word limit.
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta, [shiftylinguini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiftylinguini/profile).

_Close the door. Open the door._

Draco’s Dark Mark prickled as he repeated the familiar process yet again.

The apple he’d placed in the cabinet was back, but it was withered, decayed almost beyond recognition.

A fresh wave of fear and frustration washed over him. He was getting closer, but it wasn’t enough. He was running out of time.

He stumbled back, tripping over a stack of textbooks – heavy tomes with titles like _Advanced Spellwork_ and _The Expert’s Guide to Magical Repairs_ , borrowed from the library under the guise of background reading for Charms.

Draco walked among the stacks of hidden and forgotten things, thinking of his mother, and what would happen to her if he should fail. For just a moment, he allowed the sick dread that had dwelled in the pit of his stomach for months to rise up.

Sixth Year wasn’t supposed to be like this. He should be playing Quidditch, spending time with his friends, taunting Potter … Potter, who’d filled out nicely over the summer and was suddenly top of the class in Potions. Potter, who’d been stalking Draco like a shadow all year, consumed by obsessive suspicion. Even when Potter wasn’t around, Draco could sense his presence; it was almost as if Potter could become invisible. 

Draco pushed his thoughts aside and returned to the cabinet. 

Time to try again.


End file.
